South Carolina Hotel Violations Story Finally Checks Out

South Carolina Sanctions: NCAA Adds Probation To Self-Imposed Punishments

The South Carolina Gamecocks avoided any major hazards in the NCAA's set of sanctions for the hotel mini-scandal of 2010, largely thanks to their own cooperation and self-punishment, which the NCAA praised as "beyond standard expectations." After the Cocks limited themselves by six total scholarships due to the affair, the NCAA handed down its additional ding on Friday: three years of probation. Not so bad.

From a NCAA release, the total damage:

• Public reprimand and censure.
• Three years of probation from April 27, 2012, through April 26, 2015.
• Reduction of total football scholarships by three (from 85 maximum) during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years.
• Reduction of initial football scholarships by three (from the 25 maximum) during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 academic years (self-imposed by the university).
• $18,500 fine (self-imposed by the university).
• Indefinite disassociation of both involved boosters and the local hotel (self-imposed by the university).
• Limit of 30 official visits in football (from the 56 maximum) for the 2012-13 academic year (self-imposed by the university).
• Limit of 50 official visits in men's and women's track and field (from unlimited maximum) for the 2012-13 academic year (self-imposed by the university).
• Suspension of the head track coach during the 2012 Penn Relays (self-imposed by the university).
• An assistant men's basketball coach was withheld from recruiting in December 2011 (self-imposed by the university).
• An assistant football coach was withheld from off campus recruiting during January 2012 (self-imposed by the university).

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For more on Cocks football, visit South Carolina blog Garnet And Black Attack, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

South Carolina NCAA Sanctions To Be Announced Friday

Remember that story from two years ago, when South Carolina Gamecocks tight end Weslye Saunders found himself drawn into the great UNC football scandal? It's finally wrapping up, as the NCAA is set to announce its sanctions against South Carolina at 2:30 p.m. ET Friday.

The Cocks already dinged themselves six scholarships for allegedly letting a nearby hotel give reduced rates to players and some other general agent-y activity. Don't expect the punishments to be too severe or anywhere near as hard as the hammering UNC got, as the Heels had a whole heap of other stuff going on.

As far as PR goes, there's really no time to find out about NCAA punishments quite like the middle of the NFL Draft, when your school was the only one in its division to make the first round, right?

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For more on Cocks football, visit South Carolina blog Garnet And Black Attack, plus SEC blog Team Speed Kills.

Steve Spurrier Meeting With NCAA Regarding Hotel Violation

Steve Spurrier and 10 other South Carolina coaches and officials will appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions this weekend to discuss $47,000 in improper benefits for athletes who stayed at the nearby Whitney Hotel at a reduced rate. South Carolina has already self-imposed a six scholarship reduction over the next three seasons in response to the NCAA's allegations.

Spurrier was candid earlier this month regarding the allegations.

"Sometimes crap happens," Spurrier. "You just have to deal with it."

According to the NCAA, 12 athletes rented two-bedroom suites at a rate of $14.95 per night. The rooms should have cost $57, adding up to a $47,000 extra benefit from the hotel. One football player spent an entire year at the Whitney, amassing a $19,280 tab on his own. The school also allegedly received an $8,000 extra benefit from Student Athlete Mentoring Foundation officials Kevin Lahn and Steve Gordon, who paid for several unofficial visits by freshman receiver Damiere Byrd.

For more on the NCAA's allegations, check out our ongoing StoryStream as well as the SB Nation blog Garnet And Black Attack.

South Carolina Loses Six Scholarships In Self-Imposed Sanctions

In response to a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA, South Carolina has announced that it will give up at least six football scholarships over the next three seasons as part of self-imposed sanctions.

In their response to the allegations, the South Carolina Gamecocks did not dispute that there was negligence on their part. The school is also self-imposing a three-year probation and limitation of official visits for the football team.

According to the notification, the nearby Whitney Hotel allegedly provided $47,000 worth of reduced rent to 12 student-athletes and made special arrangements with 9 of them to make deferred rent payments between 2009 and 2010. Most of the student-athletes lived in a two-bedroom suite for approximately $15/day. South Carolina has been accused of not properly-monitoring these agreements.

The NCAA's decision whether or not to impose further sanctions will be announced at a hearing in February.

For more on the allegations and South Carolina athletics, visit Garnet and Black Attack.

NCAA Gives South Carolina Notice Of Allegations

South Carolina stands accused of allowing a nearby hotel to provide reduced rent to student-athletes as well as not monitoring illegal booster benefits.

UNC's John Blake Contacted Other Schools' Players To Shill For Agent

John Blake, associate UNC coach, he of the abrupt resignation and ensuing embarrassing links to NFL agent Gary Wichard, is back in the news again, and this time we've got specifics: Among the players he contacted during his time at North Carolina on behalf of a pro football agent was none other than star Alabama DT Marcell Dareus, the 2009 BCS title game MVP who was hit with an early-season suspension for agent contact.

Yahoo! Sports has the juicy, gory details:

Dareus, who was the defensive most valuable player in the 2010 BCS title game, was suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of this season for receiving improper benefits from agents during offseason trips to Miami. It was during that investigation, the sources said, that Dareus told NCAA investigators Blake had spoken to him about Wichard.

The sources said Dareus was extremely cooperative while describing his relationship with Blake to investigators, explaining that the former Tar Heels assistant recruited him while he was starring at Birmingham’s Huffman High School. The sources said Dareus told NCAA investigators that Blake had maintained contact with him since that recruitment, and that during the summer Blake called both Dareus and Dareus’ friend, South Carolina tight end Weslye Saunders, to suggest they sign with Wichard. Both Dareus and Saunders were considered potential first-round picks entering this season.

Weslye Saunders Dismissed From South Carolina's Football Team

The NCAA's pan-Carolinian investigation into improper benefits for Tar Heel and Gamecock athletes has its first casualty: Athletic director Eric Hyman announced Wednesday that tight end Weslye Saunders has been dismissed from the South Carolina football program.

Despite Saunders' recent claims via social media that he'd been reinstated, this move is far from surprising, and wraps up a perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances:

• July 19: Saunders is implicated in the improper-spring-break-benefits investigation that centered at the time around UNC's Marvin Austin.
• August 13: News emerges of a second NCAA investigation, also featuring Saunders, involving South Carolina football players living in an upscale hotel on the cheap.
• August 23: Saunders is held out of practice for what, at the time, are termed "personal reasons"; it is later learned that he's serving an indefinite suspension for lying to Steve Spurrier about being late for practice. He has yet to play a snap of football in the 2010 season.

Travis Haney of Charleston's Post and Courier reports that Saunders will apparently be allowed to retain his scholarship at South Carolina for academic purposes in order to complete his degree, and adds this ominous tidbit on the future of the NCAA's involvement with the Gamecock program (emphasis added):

The NCAA sent a letter of inquiry to the school last week, letting USC know it would be investigating the program for the foreseeable future.

As part of that, the NCAA will certainly look into its control and knowledge of Saunders’ alleged misdeeds.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for further updates on the North Carolina/South Carolina investigations. For more Gamecock news, visit SB Nation's Garnet and Black Attack.

South Carolina's Weslye Saunders Out Of Practice For 'Personal Reasons'

Agentgate Grows At South Carolina, Yet Again

The NCAA's Agent Enforcement Crusade Threatens To Be Epidemic

South Carolina's Weslye Saunders Drawn Into NCAA Investigation of UNC

The investigation of agents' ties to players at North Carolina has now spread to at least one other school, with South Carolina TE (and N.C. native) Weslye Saunders now a subject of the NCAA inquiry. The school is confirming the investigation, but isn't saying much. Except, as you might expect, head coach Steve Spurrier, who promises that his program will deal with (read: suspend or dismiss) any ne'er-do-wells.

"We’re not going to look the other way like possibly Southern California did. We’re going to abide by the rules."

And they say he's losing his edge.

The broadening of the investigation to include South Carolina is already leading to speculation that other schools could also find themselves snared by the Association's look-see. Note that the questions about Maurkice Pouncey, while a separate issue, adds evidence that the NCAA has decided to crack down on agents after the Reggie Bush investigation.

Which means this fun could last through the summer and beyond.

For the South Carolina side of things, be sure to keep an eye on SBN's Garnet And Black Attack. And for the UNC developments, follow Carolina March.